“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. Then God said, ‘Let there be light’; and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. So the evening and the morning were the first day” (Gen. 1:1-5, NKJV).
The popular teaching is that we can disregard, refuse, or reject God because we just choose to.
Is it right to say, then, that our human freedom would move us to prefer not to value or shun away what we know to be so admirable?
God’s Word shows, however, that those who are not attracted to God had failed actually to behold fully His Excellence! They are actually ignorant of Him.
Because of the erroneous concept of God, or ignorance of His Glory, men perceive sin to be more pleasurable than God, the ways of Satan or of this world are more attractive, and personal ambition is more desirable to be cherished.
Our physical eyes and other human faculties tend to perceive only the wonder of the physical creation or what could be appreciated by our physical senses. But, even from the beginning, if we have the spiritual eyes to see, we can already admire so much the Splendour of God!
The opening sentence in God’s Word states:
“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”
God can create.
He created the heavens and the earth, as we also read In Isaiah 45:18,
“For thus says the LORD,
Who created the heavens,
Who is God,
Who formed the earth and made it,
Who has established it,
Who did not create it in vain,
Who formed it to be inhabited:
‘I am the LORD, and there is no other.’”
Should our interest or attention would not be caught by Him who can make something out of nothing?
Should we not be in awe of God and admire Him exceedingly?
And He could also create a new heaven and a new earth. We read in Isaiah 65:17-18:
"For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth;
And the former shall not be remembered or come to mind.
But be glad and rejoice forever in what I create;
For behold, I create Jerusalem as a rejoicing,
And her people a joy.”
God created not only the heavens and the earth. We read in Amos 4:13,
“For behold,
He who forms mountains,
And creates the wind,
Who declares to man what his thought is,
And makes the morning darkness,
Who treads the high places of the earth --
The LORD God of hosts is His name.“
Also, He declared in Isaiah 45:7,
“I form the light and create darkness,
I make peace and create calamity;
I, the LORD, do all these things.“
In fact, He created all things, as we read:
"You are worthy, O Lord,
To receive glory and honor and power;
For You created all things,
And by Your will they exist and were created" (Rev. 4:11).
What overwhelming Power He has!
And if we are not attracted to Him, He can give us a new heart (Ezek. 36:26) or even create a clean heart in us – a heart that can appreciate Divine Beauty!
David prayed:
“Create in me a clean heart, O God,
And renew a steadfast spirit within me” ( Ps. 51:10).
Let’s proceed to the next verse:
“The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters” (Gen. 1:2).
Should not this verse make God also attractive to us?
Why?
Could we not realize that though our life seemed “without form, and void” – we are not really alone? Though we are in the “darkness” – we could also say confidently, like David:
“Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil;
For You are with me;
Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me” (Ps. 23:4).
God is also watching over us. He does not leave us all alone.
If His Spirit “was hovering over…” us before, He is now dwelling in the believers today.
You could also admire God in Genesis 1:3. It says, “Then God said, ‘Let there be light’; and there was light.”
Notice it that what God had said became a reality! He “said…” and “there was…”
We read also in verse 6, “Then God said, ‘Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.’"
Notice very well the following verse: “Thus God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament; AND IT WAS SO” (verse 7).
You will notice the same sequence in verses 9, 11, 14-15 and 24 -- “God said… and it was so.” When God would say something, it could be made or created.
So awesome and attractive is God, even in His Words! He declared:
“As the rain and the snow
come down from heaven,
and do not return to it
without watering the earth
and making it bud and flourish,
so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater,
so is my word that goes out from my mouth:
It will not return to me empty,
but will accomplish what I desire
and achieve the purpose for which I sent it” (Isa. 55:10-12).
And consider what Jesus Christ, the Son of God, said:
“It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life” (John 6:63).
Should we not be attracted to Him, because of His Words?
Unless, we are spiritually deaf or spiritually unconscious, our respond to God’s Call would be just like what Peter did: “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life” (John 6:68).
Besides, His work is beyond reproach.
Those who find fault with His work are those who measure His Goodness with human standard. They could not grasp His Divine Goodness.
But we read in the first part of verse:4, “And God saw the light, that it was good...”
After God created the light, God’s Word states, He “saw the light, that it was good…” His Word declared repeatedly, whatever He had created “God saw that it was good” (verses 10, 12, 18, 21 & 25).
And it was emphasized in verse 31: “Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good…”
Not only what He did is good, He Himself is Good. David said in Psalm 119:68:
“You are good, and do good;
Teach me Your statutes.”
In fact, according to God’s Word, “No one is good but One, that is, God” (Mark 10:18). And the goodness of what He made transcends the excellence of any human accomplishment!
Now, let’s focus on the last part of Genesis 1:4, “… God divided the light from the darkness.”
Other translations render it, “God SEPARATED the light from the darkness” as we read also in the New International Version.
God divides or separates. He does not mix the light with darkness.
In the future, there will be separation also among the nations. Jesus Christ said:
“When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on His right hand, ’Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world…’ Then He will also say to those on the left hand, ’Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels…’” (Matt 25:31-34, 41)
There are those who teach that everyone will be saved. But according to God’s Word, He would say to those on His right hand, “Come…” but to those on the left hand, “Depart…”
We could really admire Him. For while the devil tried to “mix it up,” God separates.
We read in Matthew 13:24-25, “Another parable He put forth to them, saying: ‘The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field; but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went his way.’”
Let’s continue to read:
“But when the grain had sprouted and produced a crop, then the tares also appeared. So the servants of the owner came and said to him, ’Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?’ "He said to them, ’An enemy has done this.’ The servants said to him, ’Do you want us then to go and gather them up?’ "But he said, ’No, lest while you gather up the tares you also uproot the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest, and at the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, "First gather together the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn" ’ " (verses 26-30).
God may allow this time the “tares” and the “wheat” – the righteous and the unrighteous” – the believers and the unbelievers – to “grow together.” But the day is coming when they will be separated. As we read in Malachi 3:18:
“So you will again distinguish between the righteous and the wicked, between one who serves God and one who does not serve Him” (NAS) – for, then, God will again separate the “light” from the “darkness.”
In Genesis 1:5, we read:
“God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. So the evening and the morning were the first day.”
After God separated the light from the darkness, He did not just stop there. He distinguished them by naming them. He called the light “Day” and the darkness “Night.”
We also read in verse 7 and early part of verse 8:
“Thus God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament; and it was so. God called the firmament Heaven…”
And verse 10 tells us that “God called the dry land Earth, and the gathering together of the waters He called Seas.”
But apart from His Glorious Name, God called the believers the wonderful name:
“Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him” (1 John 3:1).
He called them His children.
Contrary to the teaching of others, God did not call everyone His children. As we read in John 1:12, “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name.”
God “gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name.” There are “children of God” and there are also “children of the devil,” as we read in 1 John 3:10.
Jesus Christ told the Jews who did not believe Him, “You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do…” (John 8:44.)
Should we not be so thankful to God and draw closer to Him in admiration for calling us “children of God”?
If God will make Himself known to us, we will surely admire Him. No one needs to convince or force us even to worship and follow Him. For He is Supremely Attractive even in the beginning… He can make things out of nothing. He does not only hover over, but even dwells in His people. His Word has Life and Power. He is Good and He excels in everything. He separates the “light” from the “darkness.” He called the believers His children.
PRAYER: Our Heavenly Father, we acknowledge our inability to perceive Your Great Worth and Divine Excellence. We rejoice for the wonderful privilege that You allow us to behold and experience Your Goodness. We praise You for Your Greatness! In Jesus’ Name, we pray. Amen.
